Legal action against 23,000 illegal downloaders underway

Biggest ever case against Bit Torrenting pirates

The US Copyright Group is set to sue around 23,000 file sharers in the US in what could be the largest legal action against downloaders to date.

Having been granted permission to force ISPs to reveal personal details of people who illegally torrented 2010 action movieThe Expendables, the group will be looking to make a substantial amount of cash from defendants.

The exact number of people being targeted in the case is not yet known, and won't be until the ISPs start carrying out the subpoena; so the estimated 23,000 defendants could grow to a much higher number.

We've got a lot of what it takes to get along

Rather than lengthy and expensive court proceedings, the Copyright Group is no doubt hoping that the majority of those who downloaded the aged action hero flick will opt for a cash settlement out of court.

These settlements come in at around $3,000 per download; so it could be quids in for the studios behind the movie which has already netted $103,068,524 in US box office takings.

But forget the financial punishment; the ultimate penalty for these file sharers will be having everyone know they paid $3,000 to watch The Expendables of their own free will.